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INSEPARABLE1

Romans 8:28-39

One of the greatest fears we have in life is the fear of separation. We fear being apart
from our loved ones, even for a little while, and we fear death not for the experience of death
per se but because of the physical separation that results. Psychologists coin the words
“separation anxiety” referring to this type of fears. The disciples themselves, the night before
Christ was crucified, experienced ‘separation anxiety’ and so the Lord has to comfort and assure
them with these words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
(John 14:1, NIV)
Now that I’m a parent the prospect of releasing my children when they grow up creates
butterflies in my stomach. But I’m telling myself and parents out there that we can do better if
we give our children both roots and wings: Roots for stability in life and wings for them to fly
and explore the world. Unless we release them freely they can never reach their full potential.
Parents who fear losing their children and holds them even when they’re grown up stunts their
growth and limits their capabilities. For those who experienced death of their loved ones lately
the grief due to loss is indescribable. But unless they willingly release and truly accept the
separation due to death, they can never overcome the nagging loneliness. I’d like to quote
Charles Ringma’s words:

While birth brings us into time, death remains the certain but
unknown termination of time. Death is the final boundary of our
earthly existence. It is the all-powerful reminder that all things come
to an end. It is the abyss that we all plunge into. Death is the final
reminder of our creatureliness.2

I am convinced that what Ringma is actually saying is that we are not here to stay
forever. And by that, separation is our constant experience. The writer of Ecclesiastes admitted
this when he says, “There is a time for everything…a time to be born and a time to die.”
(Ecc.3:1-2, NIV) Tonight, I’d like to introduce to you the new dimension of the Christian life

1
Ptr. Jun Hernani, EXPO 9 for Berean Fellowship (Romans 8:28-39) September 10, 2010.
2
Charles Ringma, Whispers from the Edge of Eternity (Manila: OMF Literature Inc., 2005), 192.

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according to Paul’s letter in Romans 8:28-39. I would like to explore this dimension in our 10th
exposition entitled, “INSEPARABLE.” Let us pray…
The Bible is clear that there is a greater fear than physical separation and this is ‘spiritual
separation.’ Spiritual separation is known as the second death according to the book of
Revelation. This should cause ‘spiritual separation anxiety’ to people who don’t have Christ yet
as their personal Lord and Savior. But it seems that those who don’t know the Lord don’t really
care about their final destiny. Paul tells us in Romans the general state of the ungodly, “For
although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him as God, but
their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts became darkened.” (Rom.1:21, NIV) It’s
crystal clear, wickedness has its way of blinding people from the truth. Sin can harden a
person’s heart and leave one apathetic to God’s leading. The final destiny of those who remain
lost until they die is hell. That’s the most awesome and fearful experience ever.
What is hell like? Listen to this account by a person who had a “Near-Death Experience”

I was guided to the place in the spirit world called hell…The


darkness in hell is so intense that it seems to have a pressure per
square inch. It is an extremely black, dismal, desolate, heavy,
pressurized type of darkness. It gives the individual a crushing,
despondent feeling of loneliness.
The heat is a dry, dehydrating type. Your eyeballs are so dry
they feel like red hot coals in their sockets…The breath from your
nostrils as well as the air you breathe feels like a blast from a furnace.
The exterior of your body feels as though it were encased within a
white-hot stove. The interior of your body has a sensation of
scorching hot air being forced through it. The agony and loneliness of
hell cannot be expressed clearly enough for proper understanding to
the human soul; it has to be experienced. (as quoted by Maurice S.
Rawlings in To Hell and Back, pp.66,67)3

Now let me say this at the outset that hell is not primarily created for human beings. It
was created for Satan and his rebellious angels. Revelation 20:10 says, “And the devil, who
deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet
had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (NIV) But verse 15

3
William B. Girao, When the World Ends, What’s Next? The Christian Hope for the End Times (Manila: OMF Literature
Inc, 1999), 51-52.

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says, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of
fire.”(Rev.20:15) People who refuse to acknowledge the redemptive work of Christ on the cross
and who continually live in sin will surely follow the place of Satan and his angels. This is the
final separation which is the most dreadful type.
Biblical scholars tell us that there is no topic Jesus Christ discussed more than the subject
on hell. This means that Christ gives ample warning to people and that they must take heed of
His words lest they go to hell. For Christians, we don’t worry about hell because we are assured
of our final destination: Heaven. This is the place where we will be in the presence of God
forever. But in the meantime while we are still in this world of trouble, we need to listen to
Paul’s words of comfort. In Romans 8:28-39, I see the Christian’s new dimension: The
dimension of inseparableness from God.

First, we are inseparable from God because of His good intention, vv.28-29. Paul declares
in verse twenty eight, “28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the
good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”(NLT) For Paul,
this is a common knowledge for all Christians. He says, “We know…” This does not mean that
we will be spared from pain and suffering. We talked about it in detail in our last exposition
(Waiting Patiently) that Christians will share in the sufferings of this present world. What Paul
is actually saying is that out of our experience in this world, whether good or bad, we are
assured that it will turn out for the good because it will accomplish God’s purposes in our lives.
God will cause it turn out for our good. Take note of the condition, this will be real only to
those who love God and who responded to God’s call. New Testament scholar, Barnes,
interprets the word ‘everything’ to include all the trials and persecutions that the disciple of
Christ will undergo in this life. According to him, God allows life’s troubles for us to realize
that we are not meant for this world but for heaven, and that we must be totally dependent on
God in everything. These experiences will make our spirit subdued, humble and kind.4 That’s
why Paul continues in verse twenty nine, “29For God knew his people in advance, and he chose
them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters.” (NLT) God’s pure intention is for us to be like the Lord Jesus Christ – in true holiness.
4
“Romans” in Barnes’ Note on the O.T. and N.T. in The Bible Library, CD-ROM.

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When we continually submit to God’s will even in times of trials and tests, we will
become more and more like Christ in character. Ephesians 2:10 talks about God’s advance plan,
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared for us in advance for us to do.” (NIV) Friends, the moment we are ‘justified by grace
through faith’ God intends us to be like His Son Jesus Christ in our works and in our character.
I like how Eugene Peterson renders verse twenty nine in his translation, The Message: “God
knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives
of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line
of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.” (The
Message) We are inseparable from God because we are intended to conform to the likeness of
His Son. Take note, God is restoring us into His image. The image before humanity fell into sin.
It results as God causes the good and bad experiences in this life to shape us into Christ’s image
while we fully submit to the outworking of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Second, we are inseparable from God because of His election, vv.30. Paul continues in verse
thirty, “30And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he
gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his
glory.”(NLT) Outlined in this verse is God’s work in a believer’s life: calling, justification, and
glorification. God called us from darkness to light and He justified us and made us right in His
sight through the redemptive work of His Son and He will finally glorify us in the future.
According to this verse, the calling, justifying and glorifying is a done deal even before we were
born. This is what we call election or predestination. This is why we are inseparable from God.
In the Old Testament, it is the prophets that set forth the universality of God's electing
grace very clearly (Isa. 11:10; 56; Mic. 5:8; Rom. 9:24, 30; 11:12-13; Acts 15). All those
elected and predestined to become God's people, both Jew and Gentile, would indeed enter the
covenant relationship. But they would do so only through the One who would be the elect
Mediator (Isa. 42:1ff.; 53:1ff.; cf. Matt. 12:18).5
In the New Testament, the doctrine of election and predestination became clearer. First in
Christ's claims that he was the mediator spoken of in the OT, and that to him the Father had
5
W.S. Reid, “Predestination” in Elwell's Theological Dictionary in The Bible Library, CD-ROM).

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given his elect people (Mark 1:15; Luke 4:21; John 5:39; 10:14ff.); Second in Peter's sermon at
Pentecost, he gives a clear indication of the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man
(Acts 2:14ff.); Third is the speech of Stephen in chapter 7 of the book of Acts; Fourth is Peter's
call to witness to Cornelius (10:24ff.); and various other passages present the same doctrines. In
Peter's and John's letters and in the book of Revelation these themes of God's sovereignty, man's
responsibility, and God's election and predestination of people reappear constantly.6
The clearest exposition of the doctrine of election and predestination is in Paul's epistles
particularly in Rom. 8:29-11:36 and throws further light on it in Eph. 1. But in all of this is the
mystery of God's sovereign action and man's responsibility (Rom. 9:19; 11:33). And in all
things the glory of God's righteousness is made manifest (Rom. 9:16ff.).7
Since the time of the early church and most especially the protestant Reformation of the
16th Century this doctrine has been put in question. All I can say is that we don't have easy
answers. We might as well say with Job after he was rebuked by God (Job 46:1-6) and with
Paul after expounding this particular doctrine in Rom.11:33-36 that, "God's wisdom and grace
are beyond every creature's comprehension or understanding. One can but bow in worship and
praise."8
For better appreciation of this doctrine of election and predestination let me give an
illustration:
A person was standing at a door with a huge sign that reads, "ENTER."
He never knew what's in it for him inside. On that side, the person has
two choices, either to open that door and enter or turn back. Finally,
that person decided to open the door. Upon entering the person read
another huge sign at the back of the door. It says, "CHOSEN BEFORE
THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."9

My friends, our election and predestination as Children of God can be pictured in that
illustration. It involved both God's sovereign will and human's decision. There is no doubt, we
are inseparable from God.

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Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
I heard this back in the 90s from a preacher whom I cannot recall.

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Third, we are inseparable from God because of His act of redemption, vv.31-39. If Paul is
here with us, we can hear his voice as he declares these verses intensifying from joy to
overwhelming ecstasy. He says, “31What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?
The wonderful things refer to God’s gracious act in choosing and electing us even before time
began. In these verses we will discover that:
One, God’s act of redemption in Christ proves His incomparable power. If God is for
us, who can ever be against us? Paul argues that being in God’s side makes us a majority. It
means you and God is a winning combination.
Two, God’s act of redemption in Christ proves His immeasurable goodness. 32Since he
did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?
This is a no non-sense argument. Paul is actually saying, “If God gave us His best, He will
surely give us the rest.”
33
Three, God’s act of redemption in Christ proves His ultimate judgment. Who dares
accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right
standing with himself. The final verdict is: FORGIVEN.RECONCILED.ADOPTED
CHILDREN. This is our current status in God’s sight.
Four, God’s act of redemption in Christ proves His unmerited favor.34Who then will
condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting
in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us. Our Lord Jesus Christ, after paying
the penalty of death on the cross, now sits at God’s right hand to intercede for us continually.
This is all by grace – God’s Riches According to Christ’s Expenses.
Five, God’s act of redemption in Christ proves His unending care. 35Can anything ever
separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or
calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with
death?36(As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being
slaughtered like sheep.")37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through
Christ, who loved us. For Paul, troubles and tests in life never meant being abandoned by God.
It rather means that even in the midst of all these things, we can still be assured of God’s
unending care and will eventually come out victorious through Christ’s love.

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Six, God’s act of redemption in Christ proves His inseparable presence.38And I am
convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the
powers of hell can separate us from God's love.39No power in the sky above or in the earth
below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that
is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Friends, Paul pictures our perfect inseparableness from God. No creature, place, power,
thing, time, or event can separate us from God. We are forever in His love and presence even in
the midst of pain and suffering. Even in this present time where we constantly struggle with sin
and even when our mortal bodies are decaying and are subject to death. Paul’s message to us in
this portion of his letter is clear: “We are inseparable with God.” This is our new dimension.
Therefore, Christians should not be people of fear but of hope. This hope should be manifested
in our ethics. It should be translated in our day to day living. But this is easier said than done.
Won’t you agree with me that we are more fearful than hopeful? We are often prone to
worrying than trusting. In other words, in our Christian walk we tend to fear than to have faith.
But don’t despair, even the disciples who walked with Jesus for three years worried, feared and
even abandoned Him. What makes the difference is the renewing Spirit who now walks with us
even in our imperfectness. Let me end with this quotation:

The Christian life is not a fair-weather experience, nor is it a


life of balance. It is a life that knows both the wholeness and
brokenness, and failure and forgiveness. It knows both the
graciousness of God, and the woundedness of our world. It is a life
that is constantly reborn in the womb of hope, but it also knows the
unanswered questions of life. 10

The womb of hope that renews us is the truth and reality that we are now inseparable
from God. Let us pray…

10
Charles Ringma, Whispers from the Edge of Eternity, 179-180.

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